Gargoyles and Stained Glass: Visiting Chartres Cathedral

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From under the Eiffel Tower to the most beautiful Gothic Cathedral....

Phil and I continued on and took a day trip to the infamous Chartres Cathédrale de Notre-Dame(a special merci to the Dimons!) The cathedral is a must see on any visit to France. Only about an hour by train from Paris, and you can see one of the most (if not the most) beautiful examples of Gothic architecture in Europe. There are over 130 stained glass windows (most not even changed since the 13th century) I recommend taking a guided tour or renting the audio tour of the church, we did, and we learned quite a lot about the symbology behind the stained glass and the stone sculptures. It is really a magnificent example of medieval Gothic architecture! Unfortunately we could not take photos inside the cathedral, which is where it is most beautiful. The stained glass is incredible and the color Chartres blue comes from the glass in the cathedral! This website displays photos of the cathedral :
Chartres website

After hitting up Paris and Chartres my new travel companion and I headed to the Alps....

Check it out!!

à bientôt mes amies!

Shelly

*photos courtesy of P. Dimon*

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Photos

Childsplay in the Chartres gardens
These cute les enfants français were so much fun to watch!

Chartres Cathedral
from the town square

It is a tight squeeze in those towers!
Medieval folks were a lot smaller back then...

Outside admiring the stone work
and setting up the camera's self timer

Chartres: Town View
from the top of the Gothic Tower